Shanti Lalita perfoms Cello al Hombro (Cello on the shoulder), a cello solo afro-caribbean neo-classical improvisational fusion which speaks to the nomadic lifestyle that this year has brought to Shanti. The work a call to introspection, meditation, and healing through sound narratives, spoken word, and melodic trains of thought. Multidisciplinary artist Shenece Oretha performs a live recital of a work entitled roll call, recognition, petition. Film works from Evan Ifekoya, Onyeka Igwe, Deborah Findlater and Sad Queers Club will be presented throughout the evening plus music from Jlte, resident for Public Order on NTS
Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S.) events prioritise the comfort and safety of Black and of colour women, femmes, queers and trans folk. We aim to make accessibility a priority. However, we are open to everyone. As always - No racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia or hatefulness. If any of the above is compromised during an event, please reach out to one of the collective members (in B.O.S.S. T shirts).
Black Obsidian Sound System was established in the summer of 2018 with the intention of bringing together a community of queer, trans and non binary people of colour involved in art, sound and radical activism. Following in the legacies of sound system culture we wanted to learn, build and sustain a resource for our collective struggles. The system, based in London, will be available to use or rent by community groups and others with the purpose of amplifying and connecting us.
Members of the B.O.S.S collective are: Adae, Deborah Findlater, Evan Ifekoya, Gin Resis’Dance, Hakeem Kazeem, Jlte, Mellowdramatics, Phoebe Collings-James, Mwen, Shy One, Melissa Fundira, Mwen, Naeem Davis, Sadqueersclub, Onyeka Igwe, Shamica, ORETHA, Natasha Nkonde.
Please note this is an 18+ event.
BIOGRAPHIES
Deborah Findlater
Deborah Findlater is a video artist and filmmaker from South London. She is drawn to working with such forms as montage, installation and found footage in order to dissect the construction of narrative. Also a writer and DJ, her work takes on poetic qualities through its rhythmic use of voice, words and sound. Thematically, she is committed to exploring issues surrounding working class Blackness in Britain and Black Womxnhood.
Evan Ifekoya
Evan Ifekoya’s practice explores ‘multiple scales of space and time’ through moving image and sonic installations. Blackness in abundance, a queer reconstituting of the body and the reparative potential of art propels their thinking.
Ifekoya’s recent work has been presented at: De Appel Amsterdam, La Casa Encendida Madrid, Somerset House London and Tyneside cinema Newcastle (2019), Gasworks London and Camden Arts Centre (2018) Contemporary Arts Centre New Orleans as part of Prospect 4; Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, KW institute, Berlin; New Art Exchange, Nottingham; Plymouth Arts Centre; ICA and Serpentine Galleries, London; Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridgeshire; (2017); Transmission Gallery, Glasgow; and Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town (2016).
Jlte
Jlte's sets tilt between genres, reclaiming hysteria via lifting throwbacks, soothing discords & grounding syncopations. Lots of drums & sloping strings from across the board; much time spent on hulkshare. Accidentally always doing concept work. Resident for Public Order on NTS.
Onyeka Igwe
Onyeka Igwe is an artist filmmaker, programmer and researcher. She is born and based in London, UK. In her non-fiction video work, Onyeka uses dance, voice, archive and text to expose a multiplicity of narratives. The work explores the physical body and geographical place as sites of cultural and political meaning. Onyeka’s video works have been screened at Artists’ Film Club: Black Radical Imagination, ICA, London, 2017; Seeing the City, Guildhall Art Gallery, London, 2012; and at film festivals internationally including the London Film Festival, 2015; Rotterdam International, Netherlands, 2018 and 2019; Edinburgh Artist Moving Image, 2016; Images Festival, Canada, 2019, and the Smithsonian African American film festival, USA, 2018.
Sad Queers Club
Sad Queers Club is a musician, producer, sound designer and DJ. Last year they released their debut EP young millenials via Cherche Encore. They also play in a few bands including Rebecka Reinhard and Brown Belt.
Shanti Lalita
Shanti Lalita is a musician and inter-disciplinary artist, born 1990, in San Juan Puerto Rico. Her body of work includes solo cello performance, musical composition and improvisation, creative writing, theater and puppetry, and the production of independent multidisciplinary events and festivals featuring local artists. Her studies range from Composition in the Musical Theory Department at the Conservatory of Music of PR, Creative Writing and Interdisciplinary Studies at la Universidad de Puerto Rico, to Sound Engineering at el Liceo de Arte y Tecnología. Shanti currently is a Development Officer and Teaching Artist for educational non-profit Sonic Arts for All!, producing events via her platform Lalita Productions and directing fem-arts group Arquetipas.
Shenece Oretha
Shenece Oretha, who lives and works in London, is a multidisciplinary artist. Converging multichannel sound installations, performance, text, print and sculpture, Shenece’s focus is on polyvocality and listening as an embodied practice. She choreographs layers of music, voice, recordings and noise to shape moments of communion and ceremony.
